The New Alliance also fosters partnership agreement between the Nigerian government,private sector and development partners on targeted actions needed to promote agricultural investment and consequently food and nutrition security in Nigeria.
According to Manson Nwafor,a policy analyst who is also an Economist with Institute for International Tropical Africa,( IITA) while giving an overview of New Alliance-Grow Africa partnerships in Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja said the federal government is expected to have completed 26 tasks by June 2016,but has only completed 35 percent achievement rate.
According to the ratings,the development partners are expected to have provided $420 million in aid by 2016;but have provided $294 million;with the achievement rate of 70 percent. The private sector,the rating also showed has the highest achievement rate with expected investment of 1.1 billion as at 2016,but have surpassed and invested $1.4 billion as at 2016;with 123 percent achievement rate.
“The Nigerian Government made policy reform commitments while the private sector made commitments on the level of agricultural investments in the medium term. Development partners on their part committed to funding levels for the medium term”, the report showed.
The report indicated further that in Nigeria’s new alliance agreement,the government is committed to 13 major policy actions in the areas of seed and fertilizer,Bank of agriculture,agricultural insurance,nutrition,land titling,staple crops processing zones,commodity exchange,enterprise registration,and power availability.
In addition, the reports showed key development partners consisting of the EU,UK,Japan,France,Germany and the US are committed to funding equivalent to about $500 Million for Nigeria’s agricultural sector in 2013-2016 period.
Responding in respect to the partnerships ,the permanent Secretary in the federal Ministry of agriculture Ahmed Shehu said that through the partnerships,more private investments will be seen in the sector as the government implements the 13 policy actions which improve the environment for investments.
He informed further that the international and local business establishments firms are committed to make investments of about $4 billion in the agricultural sector,with the key reforms and the Green alternative policy of the federal government.
He noted that in order to asses progress,an annual report on the level of implementation of stakeholder’s commitments is produced at the national level and the the continental level which is the African Union.
It would be noted that the key focus of the New Alliance report is to evaluate progress made from time being while gearing up focus on the development of the agricultural sector of the economy with the government,private sector and development partners commitments.
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